


The Pitter-Patter of Enormous Scaly Feet

by FuchsiaMae



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Mild Gore, Not Shippy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2019-08-01 23:24:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16293881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuchsiaMae/pseuds/FuchsiaMae
Summary: A new experiment causes a moment of chaos.(Originally posted to Tumblr 7/2/14)





	The Pitter-Patter of Enormous Scaly Feet

It was breathing. 

This wasn’t a quiet room – far from it, with so many people chattering and jostling to get a good view – but as she watched it, the commotion around her faded into white noise. All she saw was the slow rise and fall of its massive chest, the shift of an eyelid, the twitch of a foot in sleep. All she heard was its breathing. 

It was  _breathing_. 

 

For months now they’d been growing this thing, and still she couldn’t believe it. The creature napping in its steel cage should be impossible. But then, so should so many other things here. That was why Aperture made them happen. 

Something like a proud mother’s smile tugged at her lips. Doing the impossible was just another day at work. 

Meanwhile, their audience was growing restless. The velvet curtain in front of the cage rippled at the corner with each hot, whuffling exhale. They saw, and the chatter swelled in excitement. Time to start the show. Tugging her eyes from the creature in the cage, she shot a glance at her boss – he winked back – and then the rumble of the crowd went suddenly silent as he stepped out into the light. 

“Ladies and gentlemen!” he began, grinning to outshine the cameras’ flashbulbs. “I’ve always said that we at Aperture Science are committed to bringing the future to you. Well today, that means bringing you a piece of the past.”

Behind the curtain, the animal stirred, blinking its sleepy, softball-sized eyes at the noise. She resisted the urge to stroke its head – she’d tried that once when it was a hatchling, and nearly lost a finger. She knew better than to risk a whole hand. Still, though, there was something charmingly puppyish about the way it yawned as it lurched to its feet. Dogs were just too mundane for science. 

Out front, her boss continued, “Our labs have been working day and night to bring you this latest step in scientific innovation, and believe you me, it’s a big step. Wait ‘til you see the size of his feet!” The crowd tittered as he laughed at his own joke. “We built this critter outta DNA fragments the lab boys tell me are over a million years old. Spliced 'em together with some modern animal stuff to make all the pieces fit, injected 'em into an egg, and bingo – we’ve got ourselves a living, breathing, million-year-old dinosaur!”

That was her cue. She pulled on the curtain, and it fell away, revealing the young Tyrannosaurus to the waiting crowd. Even sedated, it made an impressive sight – taller than a horse, covered in scaly hide, and bristling with a mouthful of teeth like knives. Though Mr. Johnson hadn’t said it, this one was barely more than a baby. Project Cretaceous had only just begun. 

The reveal went off flawlessly. The collective gasp, the flurry of activity as journalists scrambled for the pens they’d dropped in shock, the burst of questions – “Mr. Johnson! Mr. Johnson!” – and then the photos started. Their little dinosaur let out a low whine, blinking and shaking its head at the blinding light of flashbulbs in its face. The poor thing was still woozy. She wished there was a way to make it public without so much noise. 

“Easy now, everybody,” Cave said, trying to settle his audience. “Our little guy’s still getting used to people.” But the press wouldn’t be deterred. One cameraman ducked under the velvet ropes, and suddenly a mob was rushing the cage, all trying to get up close and personal with the new specimen. Squeezing its eyes shut against the camera flashes, the dinosaur whined again and tried to turn away – but the enclosure was too small, and it banged its snout squarely on the bars. 

That scared it. The creature yowled and swung around the opposite way, banging its tail this time. Its agitation spurred the crowd. “Step back, please,” Caroline cautioned over the clamor of the onlookers, but they were beyond caution now. A brave duo pressed themselves right up against the bars, the cameraman trying to get a perfectly angled shot of the dinosaur while the reporter scribbled notes.

The dinosaur dipped its head to meet them.  _SNAP_  went the flashbulb, directly in its eyes. 

With a thunderous roar, the blinded Tyrannosaurus reared up into the air. But the cage wasn’t tall enough – it banged its head hard on the top, stumbled backwards, and kept going, toppling the whole structure. The impact loosed the top of the cage. It clattered to the ground, and the dinosaur tumbled out onto the showroom floor. 

That was when chaos broke loose. The shouting started as the creature righted itself, as half the crowd swarmed forward and the other half fought to get away. It wobbled on its feet, still doped and disoriented, but very certain of one thing: it did not like this crowd. 

“Let’s keep calm, nothing to worry about,” Cave said as Caroline waved over the waiting security guards, who held cattle prods at the ready. But it was too late for the first unlucky bystander. The dinosaur lunged forward, its jaws snapped shut, it  _yanked_ , and the decapitated body fell to the ground.

The room exploded with screams as the remaining onlookers stampeded for the exit. The Tyrannosaur pursued, roaring and snapping its teeth – but it didn’t follow further than the door. Once the crowd was gone, it seemed to relax a bit. 

One of the guards, catching up to it, jabbed it with his cattle prod. It whipped around and bit a chunk out of his shoulder. He deserved it, thought Caroline. The poor thing was only frightened. 

The other guards, meanwhile, came up behind it with a noose made of heavy rope. Their colleague bleeding and screaming provided a handy distraction. While the creature menaced him, they threw the rope around its neck and tugged it back. It yelped in surprise, but didn’t struggle. They had it now. 

Cave chuckled. “Feisty little fella, isn’t he?”

“He sure is, sir.” But their dinosaur was calm now, and even with fresh blood dripping from his maw, he didn’t look so terrifying. Scanning the scene – toppled cage, dropped cameras and notepads lying forgotten, bleeding corpse at their feet – Caroline couldn’t hide her proud smile. Science was incredible. 

But her boss was already back to business. He straightened his cuffs and said, “Let me know when they’ve got him caged up again, I got a meeting in ten.”

“Will do, sir,” she nodded. “And I’ll have a cleanup crew in here ASAP.”

“Good girl. Gotta get those bloodstains before they set.” He checked his watch, tugged at his tie, absently smoothed his hair. “Press team will take care of damage control, body goes in the incinerator, you know the drill.”

“I think our friend has a better idea.” With the wounded security officer out of reach, the dinosaur had begun to snuffle at the corpse. Gingerly, Caroline circled it to take the rope from the guards. A full stomach would keep it from being cranky, and they might not even have to sedate it on the way back to the lab. She gave a little slack on the leash, and the creature darted forward, ripping into the dead man’s flesh and wolfing it down. Watching, she chided, “Careful, you. Don’t eat yourself sick.”

Cave grinned as wide as ever. “Kid, I like the way you think.”

No one ever told her when she signed on here that  _personal assistant_  meant babysitting a dinosaur. She hadn’t expected her life to be in danger every day. Disposing of bodies wasn’t in the job description. She loved every minute of it.

“Just doing my job, Mr. Johnson.”


End file.
